By Prof. Ibrahim B.
Syed,
President
Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc.
Louisville, KY
The writer can be contacted by E-Mail at <IRFI@INAME.COM>

I join Americans of all
faiths, and all people of conscience worldwide, in condemning these
barbaric crimes (July 7, 2005 Subway bombings in London) that can never
be justified or excused. I offer my sincere condolences to the loved
ones of those who were killed or injured in the London Subway attacks
and call for the swift apprehension and punishment of the perpetrators.

Can we eliminate
terrorism or destroy the terrorists. It is very well know that violence
begets violence. Like headache, terrorism is a symptom and not the
disease. For headache one takes an analgesic like aspirin or Tylenol.
The analgesics treat the symptom but not the disease. Science and logic
teach us "Cause and Effect." Terrorism is the effect. We need to look
into the cause or causes of Terrorism. It is reported that Osama bin
Laden said "If you bomb our cities, we will bomb yours." British cities
were a target since Tony Blair decided to join President Bush's "war on
terror" and his invasion of Iraq.

To get more mileage out
of the attack, the G8 summit meeting time was chosen. The terrorists are
not interested in destroying what we hold dear, they are trying to get
public opinion to force the alliance forces to withdraw from Iraq. Spain
already withdrew its forces. Robert Fisk wrote, "It is easy for Tony
Blair to call London bombings "barbaric"- of course they were-but what
were the civilian deaths of the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003,
the children torn apart by cluster bombs, the countless innocent Iraqis
gunned down at American military checkpoints? When they die, it is
"collateral damage"; when "we" die, it is "barbaric terrorism". If we
are fighting insurgency in Iraq, what makes us believe insurgency won't
come to us?"

Can fighting the
terrorists there (Iraq, Afghanistan) rather than let them come here, as
Bush constantly says, is valid any longer? The same intelligence
experts were there who previously claimed there were weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq when there were none, this time also totally
failed to unearth a months-long plot to kill Londoners.
Terrorists have no religion. During the Vietnam War the Buddhists were
the insurgents. In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers (Hindus) are fighting the
Sinhalese (Buddhists). Tamil Tigers who are of the Hindu faith used
suicide bombers many times higher than that are occurring in Palestine
or Iraq. In Northern Ireland there is violence between Catholics and
Protestants. In Chechneya there is violence between Muslim and
Christians. In Kashmir the Jehadis are killing both Muslims and Hindus.
In Iraq the insurgents are killing both Muslims and Christians. In
Palestine there is violence between Muslims, Christians and Jews.

NO RELIGION TEACHES VIOLENCE AND MAKES IT'S
FOLLOWERS TERRORISTS. Biology teaches us "Stimulus and Response." A
human being irrespective of RELIGION responds what he or she deems fit
according to the situation (circumstances) or environment.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said it is crucial to address
terrorism's underlying causes, which he identified as deprivation, lack
of democracy and ongoing conflict in the Middle East. A recent CNN
survey report, showed that the major root cause of terrorism was
political extremism followed by Middle East conflict, lack of democracy
and deprivation.

Walter Laqueur wrote in the Wall Street Journal (July 12, 2005)
"Whenever a major terrorist attack occurs, the politicians' speeches are
predictable -- that the terrorists are barbarians, that they won't
succeed in destroying our values and undermining our way of life. All
this is correct and probably bears repeating, even though it's not
exactly new and doesn't help us understand what happened and what may
happen in the future."

Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), recently wrote:
"We call upon the governments of the United States and the United
Kingdom to take the first, courageous steps to end the cycle of violence
by exercising uncommon restraint in their response to the London
bombings. Let the moral depravity of the attacks stand alone for the
peoples of the world to condemn and unite against. Do not compound the
moral outrage of the mass killings in London with further U.S.-UK
military attacks that will put at risk still more innocent civilians and
fuel further hatred. Those responsible must be held accountable under
the rule of law.

We call upon President Bush and Congress to change course now to
address the root causes of violent extremism and war, to pursue
alternatives to war such as those suggested in the Smart Security
legislation introduced by Representative Lynn Woolsey (CA), and to take
political steps to reduce the level of violence in Iraq such as
declaring that it is U.S. policy to remove all U.S. troops and military
bases from Iraqi soil."

The Guardian last week said that the war against
terrorism will not be won until we better understand the Arabs and their
grievances.

Majority of the Muslim countries are ruled by dictators
or Kings. Dr. Condoleezza Rice has become the Secretary of State in the
United Sates. If she were born in any Muslim country she could not have
become even an Ambassador, particularly in an Arab country where a woman
is forbidden to vote.

I am at a loss to understand as to why the prestigious
Thank Tanks located in United States and Europe do not look into the
causes of Terrorism and shape the Foreign Policy of United States and
the European Union.